President Duterte rejects Misuaris request to bring security escorts in Davao City

October 5, 2016 10:30 am

By Jelly F. Musico

MANILA, Oct. 4 (PNA) – President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said fugitive Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari agreed to talk to him in Davao City but with his own security escorts.

”Regarding Nur, I talked to him coming over here. He is willing to go to Davao to bring troops with him for security. I explained that’s not possible anymore. He is facing charges,” President Duterte said in his speech in an event with local government units (LGUs) leaders at Mayuree Grand Ballroom Dusit Thani in Makati City.

In his efforts to establish avenue to reach peace with the MNLF rebels, President Duterte called up and told Misuari that he is willing to fetch the fugitive MNLF leader from Jolo and bring him to Davao City where they can talk about peace.

”If you want, I myself would go to Jolo and I will bring you to Davao and talk there so that everything will be okay,” President said, relating his phone conversation with Misuari.

President Duterte said he would talk with Misuari again on Tuesday night.

The President reiterated his firm stand not to talk with Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that Misuari wanted to be included in the peace talks.

”I don’t want to talk to Abu Sayyaf. They are too brutal but outright criminals,” he said.

In a separate speech he delivered at the Philippine Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, President Duterte announced that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Murad Ebrahim and vice chair Ghadzali Jaafar have agreed to talk peace again with the government.

”They agreed to talk and we will resume the talk next…I will be out of the Manila for a quite some time,” President Duterte said.

President Duterte said he also talked with Moro scholars in Mindanao “and they said that Mindanao really belongs to them.”

”It was taken away by the Americans and that they will not negotiate with me. They will talk but they will not negotiate for as long as they find some Americans in Mindanao,” he said.

The President clarified that he was not asking the Americans to leave the entire Philippines. (PNA)